


just had a change of heart

by stariousfalls



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s02e15 The Last Mabelcorn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26445859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stariousfalls/pseuds/stariousfalls
Summary: He was not going to let Mabel win this argument. Normally he’d give in to her when she approached him for something, but this situation was different. Unicorn’s ‘opinions’ be damned.
Relationships: Mabel Pines & Stan Pines
Comments: 9
Kudos: 105





	just had a change of heart

**Author's Note:**

> Had a high need of writing some Mabel and Stan bonding content. :)

Stan froze as soon as he heard Mabel hiss in pain. He had to push through — her injuries needed to be taken care of. 

_Who else was going to?_

He noticed the dynamic shift in the younger set of twins as soon as he brought his brother back. Stan sadly recognized the feeling of being left out — wanting to take on any opportunity to be noticed and acknowledged by your own family. His heart sank watching the optimism and life inside of his grand-niece’s eyes slowly die. 

She desperately wanted to be around her brother again, and he couldn’t blame her. She felt like she was replaced.

“‘M sorry, pumpkin,” he softly tried to reassure her – towards the pain she felt both inside and out.

He knew she was struggling, trying to keep it all together.

It was hard for him to provide emotional comfort, as he wasn’t sure what she’d gotten herself into earlier. He figured it was something related to his brother. He rolled his eyes. He’ll have to deal with him later. _Maybe._

The more he thought about it, the more he came to the conclusion that he was partially at fault as well. Perhaps he should’ve been paying more attention to what the kids were trying to get themselves into with Ford. Even though he gave blatant permission for the kids to be around his brother, it’s not their faults that he has some tension with his twin.

He sighed.

“Yeesh, kiddo – what’d you get yourself into?” Stan awkwardly chuckled to try and lighten the mood.

As soon as he saw the waterworks he immediately melted into his soft, protective side he reserved just for her. He wouldn’t outwardly admit it, but he’d grown overtly attached to Mabel throughout the course of the summer. Both of the kids brought out so much joy he’d been starving himself of. He didn’t realize just how much he’d been deprived of familial love until it hit him like a freight truck, receiving heaps of physical contact. He felt like he didn’t deserve it, after all he’d caused throughout his pathetic life of scavenging and conning. And he did what he could to prove himself that he was worth something to his family.

Glancing over once more, Stan watched her struggle to keep her emotions in.

Another broken sigh snuck its way out of his lips.

Who was he kidding – trying to laugh things off such as this wasn’t appropriate enough to help cheer his grandniece up. No more beating around the bush. He just couldn’t stand sitting around seeing her so distraught and defeated. Her sudden shift in behavior took a dramatic fall since the last time he witnessed her optimistic shenanigans.

Mabel deserved nothing but the world and more, and he’d give anything to keep that contagious, radiant smile on her face. She was his precious, beaming light in his gloomy realm of heartbreak and broken promises.

“I saw one of your sweaters in the trash earlier – I’ve never seen this kinda behavior from you,” he addressed softly.

Stan felt his heart sink when he heard her hiccup. As soon as he finished tending to her wounds on one of her arms, he placed a comforting hand on her head – hair disheveled and covered in foreign fluids. She looked like she’d been through hell.

“What happened, pumpkin?”

He watched her try and reach around her neck for a turtleneck to pull over her face that was nonexistent – an anchor that she used to hide herself from the rest of the world. He recognized that behavior immediately – _Sweatertown_. Once she buried herself into her sweater, it took a lot of coaxing to bring her back into reality. Despite the circumstances, he was relieved she wasn’t wearing a sweater for the sake of being able to address her without a barrier.

Mabel had her moments of being stubborn, just like her brother. _Just like him._

Mabel let out a whimper of panic and distress when she remembered she threw out the sweater she had been wearing earlier today. She didn’t bother to put on another before Stan confronted her, who then noticed the injuries that adorned her body. Without a sweater to immerse herself in all she could do in the meantime to calm her nerves was wrap her arms around herself, feeling exposed. Mabel focused blankly into the emptiness of the kitchen, awkwardly trying to avert Stan’s concerned gaze.

“I got some unicorn hair for Grunkle Ford today.”

_Grunkle?_ Since when did she start addressing Ford with the same honorific? Since when did Mabel bring his brother up to _‘grunkle’_ status?

He gripped tightly onto his knees until his knuckles turned white, desperately trying to push down his mixed feelings of slight jealousy and anguish. He had to pull himself together –Mabel’s state of mind was his top priority.

_Not his damn grudge and raw feelings of agony towards his brother._

“I brought Candy, Grenda, and Wendy with me out to this enchanted forest to find some unicorns. Grunkle Ford said their hairs can only be obtained by someone who’s a pure good-hearted person…” she trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

“Sounds simple enough – out of all of us you’re the purest, good-hearted person I know – ”

“But I don’t _feel_ like I’m a good person, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel interrupted with a sob.

Despite the pain and discomfort, she brought her legs up to her chest – burying her face between her knees. She felt guilt over the occasional teasing she did to her brother. She felt guilt over her selfish decisions she made throughout the summer. She felt like she proved that unicorn right by outwardly punching it right in its face and pulling her friends in with her into an all-out brawl.

At first it seemed like the reasonable thing to do – punching Celestabellebethabelle in the face – after all the tormenting they aimed towards her throughout the day. She slaved over trying to do several good deeds to make herself feel like a good person. But after all the adrenaline wore off the waves of guilt slowly flooded her mind, threatening to make her burst of negative emotion at any given moment.

“I tried doing all these good deeds to try and prove myself that I was a good person,” Mabel continued softly, “but the unicorn said doing them to make myself look better doesn’t change the fact that _I’m not a good person_. I’ve teased Dipper throughout the summer, I’ve made stupid, selfish decisions, and I even punched the unicorn in the face!”

_Punched a unicorn in the face?_

Stan felt his heart suddenly swell with pride. Under any other circumstance, he’d be swarming her with words of encouragement and support. He made sure to make a mental note to let her know some other day how immensely proud he felt of her.

His main priority was making sure she knew her self-worth, and how important she was to him. _How important she was to all of them._ He knew if Dipper were around to witness this conversation, he’d be having none of it.

“Kid, if you’re not a good person then all the world be damned.”

“But – “

“I don’t care what some fancy-schmancey unicorn has to say about my own grand-niece.” Stan huffed, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.

He was not going to let Mabel win this argument. Normally he’d give in to her when she approached him for something, but this situation was different. _Unicorn’s ‘opinions’ be damned._

“Hey – you are _not_ going to be putting yourself down while I’m around. Those unicorns lost the right to judge you as soon as they batted an eye in your direction. They don’t know you like I do.”

_Like everyone else did._

Stan saw Mabel’s pained expression aimed towards him, telling him she still felt differently about herself and so he continued on. He wasn’t leaving this room until he changed her mind. Until he whisked away every last negative thought that dragged her down into a spiral of self-revulsion.

Hell, he would find those unicorns himself and give them a piece of his own mind.

“I’ve dealt with plenty o’ people telling me I’m not good enough, and I’m breaking that chain – starting with you and your brother.”

What he wasn’t expecting as a response was a pair of arms wrapping themselves around the small of his back. And he wasted no time in enveloping the weeping child in his own, holding on tight as if she were going to be forcibly ripped from him at any given moment. He softly ran his hands through her hair, hoping he was at least doing something right in trying to comfort her.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to finally bring my brother back after 30 years. Despite the world telling you it was wrong to keep that portal running, somehow you had enough trust in someone like me to keep it on.” He said hoarsely with a broken laugh, all of the sudden struggling over his own emotions.

He placed his head on top of Mabel’s when he felt her grip tighten on the back of his wifebeater.

“And I’ll be forever grateful to you for it – relieving me of all the guilt and pain I felt over so many years.” Stan finished with a choked sob, hugging his grand-niece tighter.

_“You’re a good person, Mabel. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated. <3


End file.
